The rapid buildup of telecommunications infrastructure combined with substantial investment in Internet-based businesses and technology has brought Internet connectivity to a large segment of the population. Recent market statistics show that a majority of households in the U.S. own at least one personal computer (PC), and a significant number of these PCs are connected to the Internet. Many households include two or more PCs, as well as various PC productivity peripherals such as printers, scanners, and the like. Decreases in the cost of PC components such as microprocessors, hard disk drives, memory, and displays, have driven the commoditization of PCs. Although the majority of household PCs are connected to the Internet by dialup modem connections, broadband connectivity is being rapidly adopted, and is decreasing in price as a variety of technologies are introduced and compete in the marketplace. A large majority of households in the U.S. and Europe is viable for at least one or more type of broadband connection, such as cable, DSL, optical networks, fixed wireless, or two-way satellite transmission.
A market for home networking technology has emerged, driven by the need to share an Internet connection between two or more PCs, and to connect all the PCs to productivity peripherals. There has been innovation in LAN technology based on end-user desire for simplicity and ease of installation. Installing Ethernet cable is impractical for a majority of end-users, therefore a number of no-new-wires technologies have been introduced. The Home Phoneline Networking Association (HPNA) promotes networking products that turn existing phone wiring in the home into an Ethernet physical layer. Adapters are required that allow each device to plug into any RJ-11 phone jack in the home. The adapter modifies the signal from devices so that it can be carried by the home phone lines. Existing HPNA products provide data-rates equivalent to 10base-T Ethernet, approximately 10 Mbps. Networking technology that uses the AC power wiring in the home to carry data signals has also appeared, notably from Intellon Corporation, of Ocala, Fla. Similar to HPNA devices, adapters are required to convert data signals from devices into voltage fluctuations carried on to and off of the AC wires, allowing any AC outlet to become a network interface. Although both HPNA and power line networking products are convenient to use because they require no new wires, the advantage of AC power line products over HPNA is that AC power outlets are more ubiquitous than RJ-11 phone jacks.
Wireless radio-frequency (RF) LAN technology has also been introduced into the home networking market. Theoretically, wireless technology is the most convenient for the end user to install. There are currently two prevalent standards for wireless networking, 802.11b and HomeRF. Both of these systems utilize the unlicensed 2.4 Ghz ISM band as the carrier frequency for the transmission of data Both of these technologies have effective ranges of approximately 150 feet in a typical household setting. 802.11b is a direct sequence spread spectrum technology, and is provided by a variety of telecommunication OEMs such as Lucent Corporation of Murray Hill, N.J. HomeRF is a frequency-hopping spread spectrum technology and is also provided by a variety of telecommunications OEMs such as Proxim, Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif. Adapters that are RF transceivers are required for each device to communicate on the network. In addition to utilizing TCP/IP protocols, each of 802.11b and HomeRF include additional encryption and security protocol layers so that the user's devices have controlled access to data being sent through the LAN.
Due to market competition and the effect of Moore's Law, home networking technology is greatly increasing in performance and availability, while decreasing in price. For example, the current data-rate roadmap shows HomeRF increasing from 10 Mbps to 20 Mbps, utilizing the 5 Ghz band. The 802.11 technology roadmap shows the introduction of 802.11a at 54 Mbps, also utilizing the 5 Ghz band. It is important to note that LAN data-rates are increasing much faster than wide-area data-rates, such as the data-rates provided by “last mile” technologies including DSL, DOCSIS. Wireless wide area data-rates are also improving slowly. Current digital cellular technology provides less than 64 Kbps data-rates, with most systems providing throughput in the 20 Kbps range.
While networked PCs with Internet connectivity provide greater convenience for productivity applications, there are other trends that are influencing end user's content experiencing habits. For example, Personal Video Recorders (hereafter PVRs), such as the technology provided by Tivo, of Santa Clara, Calif., are increasing in popularity. These devices are an improvement on VCR “time-shifting” functionality, allowing users to record, pause, and start live broadcast media, almost in real time. These devices digitize terrestrially broadcast television content and store the files on a hard disk drive, providing much faster random access, fast-forwarding, and rewinding. A graphical user interface is provided that allows users to make content preference selections. A PVR supports the trend toward user controlled “anytime” access to digital content.
The MP3 digital audio format is an audio encoding technology that allows consumers to further compress digital audio files such as those found on Compact Disks, to much smaller sizes with very little decrease in sound quality. The MP3 format is the audio layer of MPEG-2 digital audio and video compression and transmission standard. For example, the MP3 format allows for compression of audio content to approximately 1 million bytes per minute of audio, at near Compact Disk quality. This capability, combined with a decrease in the cost of flash memory, a type of non-volatile silicon-based mass memory, has made it possible to develop affordable, portable digital audio playback devices. These are devices that are significantly smaller than portable CD players because they contain no moving parts, only flash memory and a microprocessor for decoding MP3 compressed audio content.
PC-based MP3 software players have been created that provide a convenient graphical user interface and software decoding of MP3 files. The most popular player is the Winamp player, is provided by American Online/Time Warner. Winamp allows users to play MP3 files on their PC, using an existing sound card with external speakers. However, to listen to MP3 s the user must interface with the PC, using a mouse and keyboard, and must be nearby the PC sound output equipment.
The smaller size of MP3 encoded audio files has also enabled these files to be shared by users across the Internet, since the transfer of these files takes an acceptable amount of time. Internet-based digital music access and distribution service businesses have appeared, such as MP3.com and Napster.com, that provide various means for users to gain access to digital audio files.
In addition to music, many other types of audio content are now available in digital format, such as spoken-word content, news, commentary, and educational content. Audible.com is an Internet-based repository of digital spoken-word content. Digital files containing audio recordings of books being read aloud are available for download directly from their website.
Graphic content such as video and still images are also increasingly available. Digital still and video cameras allow the capture and rapid transfer of images. The Ceiva Picture Frame, provided by Ceiva Logic, of Los Angeles, Calif., is a product that allows users to share digital images across the Internet. The Ceiva Picture Frame is comprised of a frame housing similar to a conventional picture frame, but with a large LCD in place of a photograph. The device includes a microprocessor, memory, and modem The device must be plugged into a phone line, and it functions by automatically dialing-up to a server where new digital images are stored. Based on user instructions made through a setup function on a website, a group of photos are sent to, and stored on, and displayed by the device. The Ceiva Picture Frame is a costly item due to the fact that it includes a large LCD, and also because it must include enough memory to store the digital images. However, the Ceiva Picture Frame is an example of digital content delivered beyond the PC.
Internet access is also available through the use of wireless phones with Internet browsing capability and Personal Digital Assistants (hereafter PDAs) with wide-area wireless connections, such as the Palm VII, provided by Palm Computing of Santa Clara, Calif., or a Palm V with an OmniSky wireless modem, provided by OmniSky Corporation of San Francisco, Calif. The Palm VII uses the paging network, which provides among the lowest bandwidth connection available at approximately 2.4 Kbps. The OmniSky product uses the cellular wireless infrastructure which provides a maximum of 19.2 Kbps. Many wireless cellular phones now provide “wireless web” limited browsing capability. The slow data-rates provided by these products, as well as limited display area and awkward methods of user interaction, have resulted in slow adoption rates, and signals that users increasingly demand rich media experiences that can only be supported by broadband data-rates. Additionally, use of these products supports the trend of access to Internet content beyond the PC.
AvantGo, Inc. of San Mateo Calif. provides software that channels content from the Internet to a Palm Pilot handheld device through a PC with an Internet connection. The Palm Pilot must be docked in its cradle for the transfer to take place. The personal computer is used mainly as a communication link, as none of the content is stored on the computer, it passes through the PC and is stored on the Palm Pilot. The user removes the Palm Pilot from the cradle and then accesses the information from the last download on the Pilot. The AvantGo system does not provide for rich media experiences as the Palm Pilot is limited in its processing power and Palm Pilot does not leverage the processing power of the personal computer. Although the Palm Pilot with the AvantGo service is not a real-time Internet device, it does further support the trend of access to Internet content beyond the PC.
Cable, as well as satellite TV services are efficient in providing video content to a wide variety of users. However, most existing cable and satellite systems provide video delivery services on a broadcast model, that is, customers must choose from a set number of audio/video programs that are simultaneously broadcast, with the schedule determined by the broadcast networks. With the overlaying of data services over existing cable lines, there is the opportunity to provide a video-on-demand service whereby customers could order video programming of their choice at any time. However, a simple calculation will show that pure video-on-demand cannot be supported by the bandwidth available on the existing networks, due to the high data-rates required to transport high-quality video and audio in real-time.
The convergence of the digitization of content, combined with the proliferation and decreasing cost of networking and data processing components, is providing the opportunity to deliver rich content via the Internet, to a variety of inexpensive devices beyond the personal computer. What is required is a system that provides an economically optimal architecture and management system for allowing users to set up preferences for content of varying types, including rich content, and other services, to be automatically delivered to inexpensive client devices.